IN THE CLASSROOM:

Sammy Daswani is not a bug person.

The 9-year-old from Lincoln Elementary School squirmed and squealed, reluctantly swirling her plastic spoon in the jar of foggy, brown pond water, trying to scoop up any living critters inside.

“Eww that is disgusting,” Sammy said mid-scoop. “This is maybe the grossest thing I’ve ever done.”

From there it only got worse for Sammy, as she and her partner had to transfer whatever creature they got onto a microscope slide for examination.

“I think ice skating is my thing, not fishing for bugs,” said Arielle Scherzen, jabbing her spoon into her own jar of water.

Thursday’s field trip to the Sea & Sage Audubon Society in Irvine was a little wet, a little dirty, and just the thing for the boys.

“This place is pretty cool. I like catching the bugs,” said fourth grader Michael Justice.

If the two fourth-grade classes weren’t into sifting through pond water, the field trip offered other ways to learn about nature. Some used binoculars to identify more than 25 different bird species in the area.

The field trip was the culmination of weeks of work by the Lincoln Elementary fourth-graders. The “Outdoors Adventures” is a two-hour interactive learning program during which guides teach students the ins and outs of the bird world.

After the hour-long bird walk, the students worked with microscopes to see what the birds survived on. After all, the naturalists explained, birds can’t very well eat at McDonald’s and drink chlorinated water.

Students also learn the physiology of birds, from their eggs to their beaks and wings. They get to see up close the various bones and feather types of Southern California’s birds.

“They never get a chance when they’re living in an urban environment to see nature,” said center naturalist Beverly Hargrove.

“Here they learn about it and to not be afraid of it. Because when these kids get older, we’re going to need them to vote for the environment, not against it.”

Only 9 years old, Arthur Pescan already seems to understand what Hargrove is talking about.

“You need to learn about nature so you know what the world is about,” Arthur said. “The Earth needs to be protected so we don’t tear it all down.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.